Alexander's successors: Fourth Diadoch War II

Diadochi
('successors'): name of the first generation of military and political
leaders after the death of the Macedonian
king and conqueror Alexander
the Great in 323. To settle the question whether his empire should
disintegrate or survive as a unity, and, if so, under whose rule, they
fought four full-scale wars. The result, reached by 300, was a division
into three large parts, which more or less coincided with Alexander's possessions
in Europe, Asia, and Egypt.

During the next quarter of a century, it was decided
whether these states could endure. As it turned out, there were no great
territorial changes, although there were dynastic changes. After 280, the
period of state-forming came to an end.

An overview of all articles on the Diadochi on
this website can be found here.

Demetrius Poliorcetes (Louvre)

In the summer of 306, Antigonus
Monophthalmus and Demetrius
were at the zenith of their power. However, the seeds of their downfall
had been sown on the day when Seleucus
had recovered Babylonia.
Antigonus remained focused on the west and ignored the east, which was
a grave error of judgment, because the former Achaemenid
empire, which Seleucus was slowly rebuilding, had once been a formidable
opponent, and so would Seleucus' empire be.

After the naval battle off Salamis, Ptolemy's
realms were defenseless: his entire navy was lost. Seizing the opportunity,
Antigonus marched to Egypt with a very large army. He knew that Ptolemy
was not defeated yet and understood that he had to use as many soldiers
as possible to ensure victory. The supplies were carried by his navy, commanded
by Demetrius. His marines were to launch the first attack on Egypt. The
plan was excellent, but the weather conditions were terrible: storms prevented
the navy from approaching Egypt. From now on, Antigonus' army could no
longer be fed, and it had to return. Ptolemy was saved.

From now on, there were several kings and kingdoms. The big question
for the future was this: which political model was to prevail? Was Alexander's
empire reunited or was it to disintegrate in smaller units? Was Antigonus'
or Ptolemy's model more successful? Within five years, a decision would
be reached during the battle
of Ipsus (below).

Although Antigonus and Demetrius had lost Egypt, they had kept the initiative
in the war. Ptolemy was seriously weakened, Seleucus was occupied in the
eastern satrapies, and Cassander had to restore order in Greece. A new
attack on Ptolemy seemed unwise and a war in the east was not Antigonus'
priority; therefore he decided to attack Cassander. As a preparation, Demetrius
had to besiege Rhodes, a mercantile republic that possessed a large navy
and controlled the entrance to the Aegean Sea. If Rhodes fell, Antigonus
and Demetrius could strike anywhere they wanted. Another reason to subdue
the city-state was the fact that it could help Ptolemy rebuilding his navy,
something that Antigonus wanted to prevent at all costs. The siege started
in 305.

Again, Demetrius impressed the world with the size and quantity of
his siege machines and the almost scientific approach of the citadel of
Rhodes. One of his siege-towers was ten stories and 40 meters high, heavily
armored and bristled with artillery. However, all his machines did not
bring him victory: Rhodes was reinforced by Cassander and Lysimachus
and especially Ptolemy. They knew that as long as Rhodes withstood Demetrius,
they were safe. So, a relatively unimportant siege became one of the largest
battle-fields in the Fourth Diadoch War.

The siege lasted one year and ended in a compromise. The Rhodians promised
that they would be loyal to Antigonus and Demetrius and would support them
against all their enemies, except Ptolemy. In the propaganda of Antigonus,
this was presented as a big victory, and Demetrius accepted the surname
Poliorcetes,
'taker of cities'. Ptolemy also received an additional name: he was called
Soter,
the Savior. Thus ended the siege of Rhodes.

Modern scholars usually state that the Rhodian campaign was a half-success,
but this might be off the mark. The policy of Antigonus and Demetrius policy
had been to leave towns ungarrisoned ('free and autonomous'), and so was
Rhodes. During the next years, Demetrius was able to fight a war against
Cassander in Europe; this had been Demetrius' aim, and he had achieved
it. On the other hand, it could easier have been reached by diplomatic
means.

In the autumn of 304, Demetrius
went to Greece, where Athens was besieged by Cassander. The Macedonian
ruler was expelled and Demetrius continued to liberate the Greek towns.
He won over Corinth and almost the entire Peloponnese. Then, he convened
a meeting and organized a League of Greek towns,
like the one that had been founded by Alexander's father Philip (303).
The towns were to be free and autonomous, Demetrius was to be their general,
and had the right to conscript soldiers (text
of the charter of the League).

At this point, Cassander sued for peace (302).
But Demetrius and Antigonus had been very successful and were convinced
that they could defeat Cassander. Therefore, they demanded unconditional
surrender, which Cassander was unwilling to contemplate. He broke off the
negotiations and the war was resumed. Demetrius invaded Thessaly, where
he and Cassander fought a war of nerves: the two armies built large camps
and kept an eye on each other, but they did not join battle.

In the meantime, Cassander had urged his allies Ptolemy of Egypt, Lysimachus
of Thrace and Seleucus of Babylonia to come to his aid. The three men were
now stronger than they had been before the Fourth Diadoch War broke out,
and they promised to attack Antigonus. These diplomatic movements made
it impossible for Demetrius to attack in Thessaly. He concluded an armistice
with Cassander, and returned to the east, the new theater of war. His camp
in Thessaly became the new site of the city of Halos
(text).

Antigonus now concentrated his armies in what is now Turkey,
because Lysimachus had invaded this part of Antigonus' kingdom. This
was a big surprise,
because Lysimachus had been the weakest of Antigonus' enemies: as king
of
Thrace, he still had to fight the Thracians, and during the last twenty
years, he had won as many victories as he had suffered defeats. Nobody
expected that, of all persons, Lysimachus would attack the powerful
Antigonus
and his son.

But he had a large war-fund, accepted several units of the army of
Cassander, invaded Asia, overran the west coast, and captured Sardes and
Ephesus, two very rich cities. Antigonus hurried to the west, Demetrius
arrived from Greece, and Lysimachus was trapped between two armies (summer
302). Cassander sent him reinforcements, but Demetrius' navy intercepted
them. However, Lysimachus was able to postpone a large scale battle, hoping
that there would be reinforcements.

In the winter of 301, they seemed
to arrive, when Ptolemy invaded Syria, but he turned back when he received
a false report that Antigonus had been victorious. Antigonus and Demetrius
were now preparing for a decisive blow against Lysimachus and the invasion
of Europe. They isolated their opponent near Ipsus
in Phrygia.

At that moment, however, Seleucus arrived. He had been fighting in
the east for more than six years, had conquered all eastern satrapies (Bactria
in 307), and had concluded a peace treaty with the Indian king Chandragupta
Maurya
(304), who had occupied the Indus valley. Seleucus had given these territories
to him, and had received a large number of war elephants (500 according
to our sources). Now, he was returning to the west. Antigonus had tried
to prevent his arrival by sending an army to Babylonia, but Seleucus had
simply ignored it, knowing that the decisive battle was to take place in
Phrygia.

So, he suddenly appeared at Ipsus, and immediately sided with Lysimachus.
It is not exactly clear what happened, but it is certain that Demetrius,
who commanded Antigonus' cavalry, drove back his opponents and pursued
them, leaving one wing of his father's infantry unprotected and an easy
target for the elephants. So, Seleucus' forces decided that battle. Antigonus
was killed by a rain of spears and arrows, Demetrius managed to escape
with a small force. Lysimachus and Seleucus now had to divide the kingdom
of Antigonus, and had to deal with one competitor, Ptolemy.